Mitchell Starc reveals why he did not register himself for the IPL auctions

Mitchell Starc almost registered himself for the IPL mega auctions but chose not to go ahead. The Australian pacer was last seen in the IPL in 2015 playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The reason for not participating in the tournament was that he wanted to stay away from the bio-bubble to be fresh for Australia’s next assignment. This would also give him more time to spend with his family, he said.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, he said, “I was a click of the button away from entering the auctions but personally didn’t want to spend 22 more weeks in a bubble, needed some time to refresh the body, and for me, that’s prioritizing Aussie games.”

“There’ll be a time where I’d love to go back to the IPL but in terms of wanting to play as much as I can for Australia, a multi-format player as well, that’s a decision I’ve taken, and that gives me an opportunity to spend time with Alyssa and family in those eight weeks outside of a cricket bubble,” the 31-year old added.

During the two years that he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Starc had a decent run. He took a total of 34 wickets in the 27 matches that he played, at an economy of just over 7 and a strike rate of 17.

Starc recently won the Allan Border medal (Australia’s player of the year award) for his performance in all the formats of the game. He took a total of 43 wickets across formats at an average of 24.4 in 2021. He also had 241 runs in the year and ended up being among Australia’s top 10 run-scorers in 2021.

The left-arm pacer was last seen in the Ashes, where he played all five matches and got 19 wickets. Australia won the series 4-0.